Every time lychees are in season, I tell a story that my family are probably tired of hearing. It goes back to my school days. A close friend watched as I peeled and ate with relish my after-lunch treat – 3 beautifully red lychees. I had offered to share, but she had declined. After I finished she told me she didn’t like lychees.

“They’re too much work,” she said. “Too much work to get to a teeny bit of fruit inside – couldn’t be bothered”.

I couldn’t believe my ears. The “work” of peeling the fruit – and having its sweet juices cause icky-sticky fingers – had never troubled me, a lychee-lover from way back!

I dedicate this column to my Year 6 friend, wherever she is. I hope she has discovered the joy of the fruit, even if only of the canned or frozen variety, which cut the “work” out of it all.

I would advise her though, just as someone advised me recently, that it’s better to use the frozen variety rather than the canned: they retain the flavour and the fragrance of the fresh fruit much better (you’ll find them at Asian grocery stores).

Lychees are low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, high in Vitamin C and minerals like potassium and copper, and rich in dietary fibre. They are a very good source of B-complex vitamins such as thiamin, niacin and folates. All in all, they are an ideal ingredient in weight-loss diets.

Lychees are in our grocers’ shelves at the moment and I hope you have been enjoying them as much as I have. Of course the best way to eat them is straight after peeling, but I have discovered, there is so much more you could do with them.

Apparently you can make them into a cold soup; cook them with light white meat like pork or chicken or even fish; put them in a salad; put them in muffins or cakes; use them in cocktails, or, my current favourite, stuff a bunch of them!

You can also easily buy a variety of lychee products these days, such as lychee honey, lychee syrup, dried lychee, lychee vinegar, and lychee jams and jellies (which you can also use to glaze your barbecue meats).

Read on for interesting recipe ideas.

Tropical Fruit Salad

2 kiwis, peeled and diced
2-3 slices tinned pineapple, diced
1 mango, pitted and diced
½ punnet strawberries, hulled and halved
1 cup lychees, peeled and pitted
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp lychee jam

Put fruit in a large bowl and toss. Add white sugar, brown sugar and lychee jam. Mix thoroughly. Cover and chill in the refrigerator at least 15 minutes.

Lychee Salsa

2 cups lychees, peeled, pitted and diced

¼ red capsicum, diced

¼ Spanish onion, finely diced

1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice

3 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Fresh coriander leaves

Combine all the ingredients together. Cover with cling film and refrigerate before serving.

Stuffed Lychees

3 cups lychees
250 gms softened cream cheese
6 tbsp finely chopped crystalized ginger
6 tbsp finely chopped macadamia nuts
2 tbsp port or brandy

Peel and remove seeds from lychees.
Mix all other ingredients and fill lychees with cheese mixture.
Arrange lychees on platter and decorate with torn basil or mint leaves. Great as a summer time appetizer.

Lychee Lassi

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup chopped lychees or ½ cup lychee juice

Ice cubes

Blend until smooth and serve in tall glasses.

Lychee Martini

15 ml lychee syrup

45 ml good quality vodka

15 ml lychee juice

5 ml lemon juice

A few numbers lychees (peeled and pitted) and mint leaves, for garnish

Put ingredients into cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into martini glass. Decorate with skewer of lychees and mint leaves.

Dress the rim of the glass with crystallized ginger.

Lychee Mint Champagne

450 gms (roughly 3 cups) lychees, peeled and pitted
1 bottle chilled champagne or sparkling white wine

Fresh mint leaves for garnish

Puree the lychees and mint leaves in a food processor. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl. Half fill a glass with the mixture and top with champagne.
Decorate with mint leaves.

Lychee Crab Salad

200 gms crab meat, shredded

¾ cup lychees, peeled and pitted

1 stick celery, finely chopped

Lettuce leaves of choice

For salad dressing:

½ cup mayonnaise

2 tbsp cream

2 tbsp dry sherry (or apple juice)

2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tsp crushed black pepper

Salt to taste

Toss crab meat, lychees and celery together in a bowl.

Blend all dressing ingredients together until thoroughly mixed.

Lay out lettuce leaves on platter and arrange Lychee Crab Salad on it. Drizzle dressing over.

I’ve never really liked fruitcake. When I was younger and was given a piece at Christmas parties, I would politely smile, take it and say “Thank you, this looks delicious!” (Just as I was told to). I would take the smallest spoonful I could manage and then slyly leave it behind a stack of plates or on a side table. The rich, heady smell of the rum-soaked fruit and thick, treacley, golden syrup was too much for my little tummy.

So when our Food Technology teacher announced this year we would be making and decorating fruitcakes as our final product in Term 4, you could say I wasn’t too excited!

However, making it from scratch was a different experience. We made the cakes in a practical lesson halfway through Term 3 in early September. The rich smell that always used to make me feel sick was bouncing off all directions in the kitchen classroom… and surprisingly, I loved it! Our little station was littered with colourful dried and candied fruits as chopping and preparing was quite a task. Making the fruitcake was easy enough, however you did need strong arms as there was so much mixing involved. We came back at lunch to take them out of the oven, and the smell was so rewarding. It was sweet from the fruit, sugary from the golden syrup, rich from the rum and sherry, and warm from the essences and spices. My friend Jennifer from my cooking group smiled and said this was what her grandmother’s kitchen smelled like when they visited her every Christmas. It was almost funny to think of the contrast – when we visit our extended family at Diwali we are greeted with the smell of masalas and mithai!

The cakes were carefully wrapped in baking paper and left to mature in the storeroom over the holidays. The idea of eating a cake three months after it was baked seemed a little weird to me for a while! 
The next step was deciding how to decorate our cakes. In the first lesson of Term 4, the class was told to do a collage of cakes we found interesting. I spent a happy evening googling cake decorating designs -what lovely homework this was! Embarrassingly enough, one of my nerdy pleasures is watching the TV show Ace of Cakes, the cake decorating show, so I had an advantage. I thought the cakes which had a paisley design were beautiful, almost like a cake mehendi design. (Ah, the Indian in me finally comes out!). I decided to do a paisley design with orange, blue and white flowers to represent spring. Around me, most people were doing Christmas-themed cakes, so mine was a nice contrast.

We were given white fondant, a play-dough like icing which is pure sugar, to do an under layer on the cakes. When this was done, it looked like a blank canvas ready for an artwork to be applied on.

Using orange royal icing in a squeezy bottle, I began piping the paisley/mehendi design on. In the course of one lesson, my respect for the mehendi-wallahs we visited on the streets in India shot up tenfold! I seriously never realized how hard it was to sit, hunched over, concentrating for so long on an intricate design (and being a typical impatient teenager was not helping!). The end result was not perfect, but I was happy with what I had done.

My family has never been fans of rich fruit cake either, but this one was finished within a week. It must have been our teacher’s special recipe – not too rich, not too sweet, just right. And finger-lickin’ good!

So, do me a favour. At your Christmas party, make this cake here, it will be a hit! Please don’t buy the supermarket variety in the plastic packages, because you might later find slices hidden under the bed, in the dog’s kennel or fertilizing your indoor pot plants.

Christmas Fruit Cake

1kg mixed fruit (may be soaked in rum before hand)

1 pkt sultanas

½ pkt cherries

1 ½ cup brown sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp nutmeg

1 cup cold water

250g butter

1 tsp golden syrup

1 tsp vanilla

½ tsp almond essence

¼ cup rum or sherry

6 eggs

1 tsp bicarbonate soda

300g plain flour

125g self raising flour

1. Collect all ingredients. Line a cake tin with paper.

2. In a large saucepan combine fruit, brown sugar, spices, water, butter and golden syrup. Bring the mixture to the boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool.

4. Transfer the mixture into a large bowl. Add essences. Beat together 6 eggs and bicarbonate soda in a bowl. Fold through the fruit mixture.

5. Fold through sifted flours.

6. Place mixture into prepared tin. Bake in a slow oven (160 degrees C) for 2 – 3 hours, depending on the size of the tin.

7. Allow to cool in the tin. Remove and decorate as desired.

Corn roll-ups have been a favourite snack at my place for a long time. I learnt how to make them, believe it or not, from my childrens’ day-care centre many years ago, where it was a regular on the lunch menu. Not only did my kids love it, it also came in handy as an appetizer on many an occasion when I had guests over. I have since learned to make roll-ups with a variety of other ingredients, following much the same principle. Essentially you trim the crusts off sandwich bread, stuff with something yummy, roll up to make a log, brush with margarine and pop into the oven. They can be savoury (such as with asparagus which suits also because of its shape, which helps in rolling), or sweet (as in cinnamon roll-ups). If you choose your ingredients that are already cooked like BBQ chicken, they can just be a fancy sandwich. (To serve, you can tie some chives round the centre like a ribbon, to give it a gourmet look).

Either way, roll-ups go down well as a morning or afternoon snack, or as an appetizer before a main meal.

And what do you do with the crusts? Freeze them, and convert them into breadcrumbs in your food processor whenever needed.

Corn Roll-Ups

12 slices bread

Butter or margarine

440 gm tin creamed corn

4 shallots, finely chopped

1 cup grated cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Combine corn, cheese and shallots in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove crusts from bread. Spread margarine thinly over one side. Sandwich two slices and then roll a rolling pin gently over, to flatten slightly. Then peel open and place the two slices on a flat surface, buttered side down. Spread the corn mixture on dry side of bread. Gently roll up and place, in a single layer, on a greased oven tray. Arrange rolls so that they touch each other, as this helps maintain shape. Bake in 220 degree oven, for ten minutes or until lightly browned.

Asparagus Roll-Ups

12 slices bread

Butter or margarine

1 tub cream cheese, softened

4 shallots, finely chopped

24 fresh asparagus spears, trimmed

Grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook asparagus in some water in the microwave until tender. Combine cream cheese and shallots in a bowl. Taste to see if you need a bit of salt and pepper – you might not. Remove crusts from bread and flatten with a rolling pin. Spread mixture over bread slices. Cut asparagus to fit bread; place two spears on each slice. Roll up and place, seam side down, on a greased oven tray. Brush with butter, then sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake in 220 degree oven, for ten minutes or until lightly browned.

(For a non-veg version, try bacon, cooked and crumbled, added to the cream cheese mixture).

Bacon Roll-Ups

8 slices bread, cut in half

Butter or margarine

1 tub cream cheese, softened

8 slices bacon, cut in half

Remove crusts from bread and flatten with a rolling pin. Spread with cream cheese. Tightly roll each piece of bread a slice of bacon. The bacon should be on the outside of the bread. (You might have to cut bacon to fit bread). Secure with toothpicks.

Arrange roll ups in a single layer on a medium baking dish. Bake in a 180 degree oven 30 minutes, or until bacon is no longer pink and bread is lightly browned. Serve warm.

Cinnamon Cream Roll-Ups

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 cups white sugar

½  cup butter or margarine, softened

½  tub cream cheese, softened

1 egg yolk

8 slices white bread

1/2 cup margarine, melted

Mix the cinnamon with 1 cup of the sugar and set aside.

Remove crusts from bread and flatten with a rolling pin.

Combine softened butter or margarine, cream cheese, egg yolks and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar in a bowl.

Spread this mixture on the slices of bread and roll them up. Brush each roll with the melted butter or margarine and roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture. Place roll-ups seam side down on greased tray, cover tightly with plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze. Take out after half an hour, and put them, unthawed, in a 200 degree oven. Bake for 15 minutes.

BBQ Chicken Roll-Ups

8 slices bread

½ cup cream cheese, softened

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 cups BBQ chicken, skin removed and shredded

1 stick celery, finely diced

Combine cream cheese, mayonnaise and mustard in a bowl. Add chicken and celery to the cream cheese mixture. Remove crusts from bread and flatten with a rolling pin.

Spoon chicken mixture evenly on bread and then roll up tightly.

Salmon Roll-Ups

6 slices bread

Butter or margarine

Small tin salmon, drained and flaked with fork

1 small cucumber, grated

Small tin pineapple chunks, drained and chopped finely.

Combine salmon, cucumber and pineapple in a bowl. Remove crusts from bread and flatten with a rolling pin. Spread with margarine.  Spread salmon over bread followed by cucumber and pineapple. Roll up tightly.

Vegemite Roll-Ups

8 slices bread

Butter or margarine

Vegemite

Celery, cut into thin slices

Remove crusts from bread and flatten with a rolling pin. Spread with margarine and Vegemite, and place some thinly sliced celery sticks on each slice. Roll up and secure with a toothpick.

(For another variation try cheese sticks in place of celery).

I know exactly how you feel. You’ve eaten too much at Diwali, haven’t you? You got one too many boxes of mithai – probably still have some sitting in your fridge – and not only did you pig out on them, you went out to the Diwali Mela and bought some more. And this was after eating hot jalebis and chole bhature and aloo tikkis at Parramatta Park. I know, ‘cos I saw you there, you petus…. Oh, alright, join the club!

Anyway the mood right now is still a bit squeamish, and the desire is for something fresh – fresh produce, cooked as lightly as possible. Now that the Festival of Light is all done, we commence the Festival of Light Eating.

And guess what, mangoes are in! Read on for some easy recipes. Here, mangoes are used to add a glamorous touch to your main meal, as they tango with various salad ingredients.

Mango and Prawn Salad

1 large ripe but sturdy mango, thinly sliced

Baby Asian greens

24 medium cooked prawns, peeled and deveined but with tails left intact

¼ bunch fresh coriander, chopped

For dressing

2 egg yolks

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger

1/2 cup peanut oil

1 1/2 tbsp warm water

1 fresh red chilli, deseeded, finely chopped

Pinch of salt

To make the dressing, place the egg yolks, lime juice, mustard and ginger in a food processor and process until mixture begins to thicken. With the motor running, gradually add the oil in a thin steady stream, stopping occasionally to scrape down the side of the bowl, until creamy and pale. Add the water and chilli and process again until combined. Taste and season with salt.

Lay out the Asian greens on a white platter, and arrange mango and prawns on top. Drizzle dressing over and garnish with coriander.

Mango Chicken Papadums

2 single chicken breast fillets

2 tbsp tandoori curry paste

1 tsp vegetable oil

Plain mini pappadums

1 ripe but sturdy mango, peeled and cubed

1 small Lebanese cucumber, cubed

2 tbsp finely chopped red onion

1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

3 tsp fresh lime juice

1/2 cup natural yoghurt

1 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 garlic clove, crushed

Fresh coriander sprigs, for garnish

Marinate the chicken in the curry paste in a glass or ceramic bowl.

Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Cook chicken on both sides. Set aside to cool, then shred.

Cook the pappadums to packet directions.

Toss together the mango, cucumber, onion, chopped coriander and one-third of the lime juice in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Combine the yoghurt, mint, garlic and remaining lime juice in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Lay out pappadums on a serving platter. Top with chicken, mango mixture, yoghurt mixture and coriander sprigs to serve

Mango Salsa

1 large ripe but sturdy mango, peeled and cubed

1/2 red onion, finely chopped

2 small chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped coriander

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lime

Toss together mango, onion, chilli, coriander, oil, lime juice and some salt and pepper in a bowl. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for half an hour.

Another Mango Salsa

2 large ripe but sturdy mangoes, peeled and cubed

1 large Lebanese cucumber, seeds removed and then cubed

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Toss together in a bowl the mango, the cucumber, dill, chives, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for half an hour.

Mango Rice Paper Rolls

1 under-ripe mango

1 Lebanese cucumber

2 spring onions

12 x 15cm round rice paper wrappers

2 cooked chicken breast fillets, sliced

¼ cup torn mint leaves

Peel the mango, remove the flesh and slice thinly. Cut the cucumber and spring onion into 8cm long thin straws.

Place the rice paper wrappers in a bowl of warm water for 1 minute or until soft and pliable. Remove and pat dry on a clean tea towel. Lay them out on your bench.

Divide the mango, cucumber, spring onions, chicken and mint between each wrapper, placing them on the bottom-left side nearest to you. Roll up firmly to enclose the filling, folding the right side over the filling as you go to make a base, and leaving the left side open to show the filling.

Serve with sweet chilli sauce or a dipping sauce of 1/3 cup fish sauce and 2 tablespoons lime juice, if desired.

(Image and recipe provided by Mango Communications)

Mango and Prosciutto

Mango cubes

Baby rocket leaves

Prosciutto slices

Place one rocket leaf on a mango cube, then wrap prosciutto slice around. Use half a slice if your cubes are small. Secure with wooden toothpick. Cover with clingfilm and chill.

One afternoon not so long ago as I drove home from work, I felt an irresistible urge for…. jalebis. I’m just tired, I told myself, and probably looking for a sugar kick. I could stop by at a 7-11 and get myself a bar of chocolate instead. Or I could ring the husband and get him to bring some jalebis home tonight. Or, I could turn towards West Ryde right now, and get some from the Indian shops.

I picked option three. Surprising for me, since I am not usually prone to such impulsive acts of behaviour.

‘Not so long ago’ was actually sixteen years ago, and I was eight months pregnant with my first child.

As I sat back in my car and ate – I am loath to admit this – three whole jalebis, I wondered what my husband would think. He knew me thus far as someone who shunned desserts of most kinds, Indian mithai in particular. I’m not going to tell him just yet, I decided, because he’ll rush down to the shops and buy me a bucket-full. Only last week, when I had particularly enjoyed the sambhar at an Indian restaurant, he had asked the owner-chef if he could buy 2 litres of it. (“We don’t usually sell take-away sambhar by itself, Luthra saheb, but seeing as your wife…..”)

As I sat licking my jalebi-sticky fingertips (I am loath, again, to admit this), I wondered what my brothers back home in India would think. Every so often, they would bring home fresh hot jalebis from the local shops, wrapped in brown paper bags. They ate them with hot milk poured over. I never failed to go “Eeeeewwww”. They always replied, “You should try some”.

Of course they would both understand if they saw me now, I consoled myself, blaming my ‘loathsome behaviour’ on my ‘condition’. We all know there are strange cravings during pregnancy. Once I’m back to my ‘normal’ self, I’ll never eat jalebis again.

Umm, I never got back to my ‘normal’ self. Someone – nutritionists, physiologists, whoever – should do some research into this: some of the new behaviours/tendencies that come into play during pregnancy, linger on post-pregnancy. Just like the fat we gain while carrying the baby….

The baby. Blame the baby. The baby turned this jalebi-hater, into a jalebi-relisher. I couldn’t describe myself as a jalebi-lover, because I am not one, really. Jalebis can be sickly sweet, and while I do enjoy them around Diwali, it seems my system has its full to last a whole year. Thankfully!

You see, in Punjabi families, it is tradition to have jalebis as prasad (blessed food). So there’s always some jalebis in my fridge during the week of Diwali.

I like them with hot milk poured over.

*

It was not long after the baby was born, that I tried making my first jalebis. The recipe I had found was a quick-fix one, which used yoghurt to ferment the plain flour batter. I used a zip-lock sandwich bag, one end carefully snipped off, to squeeze the batter down into hot oil in round shapes that piled over each other. Not bad for a first attempt. I omitted the red food colouring, but not just because of that, my jalebis did not really look like the store-bought variety! I have learnt now that plastic sauce bottles are way better than sandwich bags, so much easier to handle, and mess-free too. I have learned also that you should always do a ‘dry run’ first – a trial squirt on to an empty plate, to get the movement right. Those halwais at the front of the sweet shops back home, had made it look so easy….

I present here a simple jalebi recipe that would be well worth a try.

There are many variations of it, for instance, rice flour can be used in place of the chickpea flour, or fine-grained semolina, or even urad dal soaked for a few hours and then blended to a paste.

Another interesting innovation is to make ‘apple jalebis’: skin and core apples, then slice thinly into doughnut shaped rounds, dip in jalebi batter and deep fry, then dip in syrup. Try the same method with bananas.

Jalebi

For batter

½ cup plain flour

1 tsp chickpea flour (besan)

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp oil

½ tsp yeast

½ cup luke warm water

For syrup

1 cup sugar

½ cup water

1 tbsp lemon juice

Pinch cardamom powder

Pinch saffron

For frying

1 tbsp ghee

Oil

To prepare batter, dissolve yeast in a tsp of water inside a deep bowl. Add the plain flour, chickpea flour, sugar and oil. Mix well. Then pour in the lukewarm water and mix to a smooth consistency. Make sure there are no lumps. Cover and set aside for about an hour, in a warm place like an oven maybe. When the batter is ready, pour into sauce bottle

To prepare syrup, mix all ingredients and boil on medium high, stirring intermittently to ensure sugar does not collect at bottom. Keep warm.

To prepare for deep frying, heat oil and ghee. Keep flame medium-high, not high. Test heat by squirting a bit of batter in – it is ready if the batter rises to the top immediately. Squeeze batter into the oil in concentric circles into the oil. Turn over after a minute; they should be done when they look gently browned. Drain on kitchen paper briefly and then dunk into the syrup. Give them a good soak both sides, a minute each maybe, and then remove.

Best served hot.

Lamb shanks

I walked into my neighbour’s comforting kitchen and felt my mouth water.

“What’s cooking?” I asked Pam, a super-efficient grandmum who finds her four grandkids mostly funny, a feeling that is heartily reciprocated. “Sausages and vegetable slow cooked,” she said, “The kids love it!”

I was impressed, and when she shared some traditional Aussie recipes at which her mother was adept, I thought it would be a good idea to spread the word.

“My mum was a great cook, my grandmum an even better one and I’m not bad, but we get progressively worse with every generation,” says Pam, tongue-in-cheek, as we silently hope her daughter won’t ever read this!

Lamb shanks

Try to cook this dish in a slow cooker, as the meat becomes tender, succulent and absorbs the rest of the ingredients to make a delicious blend.

1 cup plain flour

8 medium lamb shanks

2 tbsp olive oil

2 large onions, roughly cut into cubes

2 crushed garlic cloves

2 cups beef stock

¾ cup red wine

1/3 cup maple syrup

2 tbsp cornflour

2 tbsp cold water

½ tsp pepper powder

Salt to taste

Mix flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish and lightly coat the lamb shanks with this mix. Heat oil in a shallow pan, add the meat and brown for three to four minutes. Remove and add the onions and garlic to the pan, cooking for 2-3 minutes until soft. Add beef stock, maple syrup and wine, and cook, stirring gently. Bring to boil. Mix the cornflour with water until smooth and stir into the liquid to thicken.

If you have a slow cooker, place the meat into it, and cover with the gravy. Cook for approx. 4 hours or until the meat is tender and fully cooked. To cook the traditional way, place the meat into a roasting pan, add the gravy and cover the pan securely with foil. Roast for 11/2 hour in a pre-heated oven. Next, remove foil, turn over and roast for an hour more or until the meat is tender. Serve with mashed potato and steamed vegetables.

Pea soup

Pam’s mum used to make this really well, she says, and adding ham can make it even more delicious, if you prefer a non-vegetarian version.

¾ cup split peas

1 large carrot

1 large turnip

1 medium onion

½ head celery

8 cups water

4 level tbsp flour

½ tsp dried mint leaves

9 cloves

1/3 tsp ground mace (javantri)

½ cup roughly cut ham (optional)

Soak the split peas overnight in cold water. Drain and place them in a large vessel, covering with the water. Add salt (and ham) and bring to a boil. Thinly slice the vegetables evenly, add to the mix and continue to boil until the peas and vegetables are soft and fully cooked. Stir through so that the vegetables and peas blend into a semi-smooth mix. Add dried mint and mace. In a separate cup, blend the flour with cold water until smooth. Add to soup and stir until boiling. Serve hot with small croutons of toast.

You can make croutons by cutting up slices of bread into small cubes and roasting them in an oven or pan until crisp, tossing them in a little butter when done.

Bacon and egg pie

This used to be a traditional weekend breakfast food, but it can be eaten any time of the day, hot or cold.

4 eggs

1 large potato, peeled, boiled and sliced

8 rashers of smoked bacon, fried until crispy

1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 cherry tomatoes, halved

½ white onion, thinly sliced

Pie pastry, readymade

1 beaten egg or a little milk to brown the pastry

1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees (fan-forced). Lightly grease the pie tins with olive oil. Fry the bacon rashers until slightly crispy and keep aside to drain on a paper towel. In the same pan, fry the onions for a few minutes and keep aside. Place a pie tin on the pastry dough and cut a slightly larger circle around it as the base. Cut another circle the same size as the tin, for the pie top. Repeat the process for the second pie. Gently fit the larger pastry circle into the pie tin, fitting the dough along the sides and slightly over the rim. Line the pie with potato slices, then layer with bacon and onion. Sprinkle on the cheese and add some cut tomato pieces. Crack one or two eggs into the pie depending on your preference. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush the outer rim of the pastry with a little beaten egg or milk. Gently cover the pie with the pastry top, pressing down the edges until they stick together. Use the back of a fork to seal the pie edges. Make a small incision on the top of the pie to help steam escape. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the top. Repeat process for second pie. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Serve hot or cold with tomato sauce.

Queen Pudding

A yummy traditional treat, but one confined to special occasions as apparently it was too much trouble – specially separating the white and yolk in the egg

450 mls milk

1 egg

2 thin slices of buttered bread or stale sponge cake

1 level tbsp sugar

1 heaped tsp icing sugar

1 heaped tsp jam

Few drops vanilla essence

Coloured sprinkles or 100s & 1000s

Preheat the oven to 175 degrees (fan-forced). Spread half the jam over the buttered bread or sponge cake and cut into thin strips. Place crosswise in a pie dish till the bottom is well-covered, then layer the rest. In a bowl, separate the egg white and yolk. Beat the yolk of the egg with the sugar. Warm the milk, but do not boil. Pour the warm milk over the egg yolk and sugar, and mix thoroughly. Stir in vanilla essence, and pour the mixture into the pie dish. Place this in larger baking dish of cold water, taking care that the water doesn’t overlap into the pie dish. The water prevents the custard from boiling whilst cooking. Cook in oven for about half an hour. Remove and cool. Spread the remaining jam on the surface of the dish. Beat the egg white into a stiff froth, after adding the icing sugar. Pile lightly on top of the pudding, and stand in the oven till the froth turns light brown. Remove and sprinkle with 100s & 1000s. Serve as a teatime treat or a dessert.

I was ten or may be eleven, when Appa (dad) and Amma (mom) left for Coimbatore to conduct the yearly ceremonial rites at the death anniversary of my grandfather. Appa’s elder brother did the main prayers and my father had to assist him, while my aunty and Amma prepared the food under the careful instructions of my grandmother.

My sister and I used to accompany my parents every year, but in this particular year we didn’t go with them as I had an important exam the day after. We were to be left alone, with caring neighbours who would keep an eye on us.  I knew this was the opportunity I was looking for … to cook!

Amma had taught me simple things… I was in the habit of getting up early as my most absorbent study hours were in the morning. I could prepare the coffee just the way we made it, brewed with the thick decoction prepared in a stainless steel filter, while waiting for the milk at 6am. She had also taught me to make Kerala Molagoottal (also called koottu in Tamil Nadu) with vegetables and ground coconut. As it was made with most vegetables, I wouldn’t have to make yet another vegetable accompaniment, so that was what I decided to cook.

Amma always fried papads – the ones from Kerala that would bulge like a poori, and would leave them in a big container so that we could not complain about not having anything to eat.

Everything was okay, except for one thing. I had to take care of my naughty little sister who liked to watch me and report back to my mother when she got back.  If the dish was not to her taste, well, I would have quite a bit to answer for! The funniest things used to happen when I tried to do things which my mother would not approve of, in her kitchen.

How did the dish turn out?  You won’t believe what I had to go through! First of all, the dhal burnt out as I decided to take a study break, and did not notice that more water had to be added. When I suddenly remembered the dhal, I ran to the kitchen and in the process fell flat and had to pretend that the few bumps that erupted as a result of the fall did not exist!  The burnt dhal had to be thrown out and a fresh one prepared. Luckily after that, everything went according to plan. We had a moderately decent Molagoottal (though it was nowhere near my mother’s standard) and with a lot of exclamations and criticism, my sister managed to eat more than her share, so it must have tasted all right! Being a party to the adventure, she decided not to report the details to mother and we were well fed and still in one piece when our parents returned.

Thinking about our younger days brings to mind the playful little happenings between siblings, which make interesting memories. I remember one such thing. My parents went off on a day’s trip leaving us at home, and I decided to try my favourite Pal Gova (milk halva) preparation. It was basically simple, very tasty and needs a lot of patience as you have to watch the milk thicken and shrink into a paste after all the boiling.  Mind you, even as you keep watching and stirring, the dish has a tendency to burn at the bottom of the vessel, and what’s left is a totally burnt vessel rather than the mouth-watering Pal Gova. This sweet is an integral part of traditional south Indian Brahmin weddings. Whenever the bridegroom’s family is invited to lunch or dinner, the bride’s family should invite them with Pal Gova.

The weirdest thing was I, being the cautious one, decided to make the dish in big, thick iron spoon, usually used for tempering food. Having cleaned the spoon thoroughly I set about filling it with three tablespoons of thick milk, all the time thinking about how I was going to enjoy eating this delicacy. But it was too little and would have to share it with my sister, who refused to take her eyes off the spoon. The little stove was lit and I didn’t know how to turn the flame down for slow cooking.  With careful manoeuvring the milk finally thickened to a semi-fluid state, and I added the sugar with my sister prompting me to add “more, more!” In a few minutes the Pal Gova was a delicious thick brown paste with particles sticking to the side. I had to keep slapping off my sister’s hand as she kept trying to touch the hot spoon, while fighting my urge to take a lick, but we had to be patient till the mix cooled down.  Happy and excited, I finally put my hand forward to secure a bit of the delicacy, my own creation, but my sister who has always been faster than me, put her little hand into the spoon, swiped the lot with agility and it was in her mouth and stomach before I could blink my eye! Knowing what would happen next, she scampered off emitting sarcastic giggles.

I refused to give up.  I took another teaspoon and started scratching the little sticky bits around the spoon and the bottom burnt bits and licked the spoon clean. I left it in the sink and went off to wreak vengeance on the little Tsunami who had disappeared down the street.  The spoon was totally forgotten.

Mother arrived late at night and promptly found the used spoon with its burned remnants and sticky bits on the side. Guess who got the worst of it?  Well, the moral of the story is, never try anything with your little sister next to you!

However, we did manage quite well and were quite chubby, so it must have been mother’s cooking.  At 80, she is the queen of the kitchen, while my sister and I simply taste…

Brahmin special elavan molagoottal

½ kg white gourd (Elavan/Poosanikkai/Chinese grey melon)

½ kg pumpkin   (Mathan/Parangikai)

1 tsp turmeric powder – 1 tsp

3 red chillies

1 tso cumin seeds (jeerakam)

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 cup grated fresh coconut

2 cups tuvar dal (tuvara paruppu)

2 tsp urad dal

2 tsp vegetable oil

Salt to taste

Wash tuvar dal and boil in cooker with sufficient quantity of water and turmeric powder. Grind the grated coconut with red chillies and jeerakam and set aside. Cut and wash white gourd and pumpkin and boil till cooked. Add turmeric powder and salt to the vegetable. Next, add the cooked tuvar dhal to the cooked vegetables. Follow with the ground coconut mix and continue to cook for a few minutes. Take a small frying pan or tadka kadhai. Add vegetable oil, and fry mustard seeds and urad dal. Add this tempering to the mix. Add curry leaves.

Serve with hot rice to which a little ghee has been added. Top with molagoottal, crush in a pappadam and life will be worth living!

Pal Gova (Thirattu pal)

8 cups/2 litres milk

2 tsp yogurt

1 cup sugar or pale coloured jaggery

Pinch of cardamom powder (optional)

Tiny pinch of edible camphor or pachai karpooram powder (optional)

Pour the milk in a thick-bottomed, broad-mouthed vessel and heat on high. Turn the stove to simmer when it starts to boil. The milk will start to thicken. Using a dosa turner, scrape the milk from the sides of the vessel as it keeps thickening. Once it reaches a slushy consistency, add the sugar or jaggery and keep thickening. If the milk is of good quality, as it reduces, ghee will also be formed from it. Keep stirring and when it reaches a thicker and slushy consistency, remove from the fire. Add yogurt for a grainy consistency, constantly stirring the mix. Add the optional

cardamom and/or pachai karpooram. Serve when cooled.

Note: The right consistency of mix is approx. 2 cups of thirattu pal from 8 cups of milk.

As a child, I was always keen to help out in the kitchen, and fortunately my mother took an equally keen interest in teaching me the hints and tips that go into making a successful meal. I have come a long way from my first cooking experience recounted below, and have now mastered the technique into a fine art, which is appreciated even by my brood of grandchildren.

Not so shabaash

I have a vivid memory of my first attempt at creating a culinary masterpiece.

I was just 8, and I must have given my dear Mum enough confidence to be allowed to mix the ingredients. Of course, she would not let me anywhere near the stove which was kerosene-fuelled, to roast the peanuts and other dry ingredients.  She had apparently bragged to my Mama and Mami about how keen I was to learn cooking and had invited them to join us for dinner. Mum did all the work on the stove and coached me on the rest of the process.

Everything went off as per plan and I helped with setting the table. The methi pooris and peanut chutney, duly garnished with fresh coriander and looking beautiful were proudly carried to the table. I beaming with girlish pride, waiting for the “shaabaash” comments once they started eating.

My Mum served everyone, and I waited and watched. The reactions and facial expressions had to be seen to be believed. Everyone had a ghostly look, which made my Mum ask, “Kya baat hai, swaad theek nahin hai?”.  My mum then took a taste herself and her face fell. She quickly ushered me into the kitchen, and asked exactly what I put in the mixture. We soon realized that I had added a full tablespoon of powdered asafoetida (hing) in the chutney, instead of a teaspoon. And hing is bitter, so you can guess how horrible the chutney tasted with methi poori (which also has a tinge of bitterness).

I must have got carried away listening to Mum talk about how different flavours and spices tickle our tastebuds.

Suffice it to say, it was Mum’s boondi raita that came to the rescue. My cooking venture went through a baptism of fire and is now permanently etched in my memory.

Methi Poori

2 cups wheat flour

Pinch asafetida (hing)

Pinch baking powder

1 cup fenugreek (methi ) leaves finely chopped

2 green chillies

2 tbsp ghee

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Sift the flour and add all the ingredients along with 2 tbsp of ghee or clarified butter. Add water and knead the mixture till it becomes a soft dough. Divide the dough into equal balls and roll them into small pooris. Heat the oil in the frying pan and when sufficiently hot, place the pooris one at a time in the oil. Fry till the poori puffs up and turns golden brown in colour. Drain on a paper towel and serve hot.

Peanut chutney

1 cup raw peanuts

1 large red onion

5-6 red chillies

2 garlic pods

2 tbsp shredded coconut

1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp asafetida

1 tsp urid dal

1 small ball tamarind, the size of a lime

1 tbsp oil for roasting

Salt to taste

Rinse the peanuts and steam them in a steamer. Cut the onion into small pieces. Put 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan and roast all the dry ingredients, except the fresh shredded coconut. Roast the onion till golden in colour. Cool, then add coconut, salt, red chillies, tamarind and grind them into a rough paste. Next, add all the dry ingredients along with fresh coriander leaves, add little water, and add to mixture, grinding again. When done, garnish the chutney with mustard seeds, and serve with methi pooris.

The power of pink

A proper nutritious meal for children must be rich in vegetables like broccoli, carrots, beetroot, tomatoes, beans and garlic. Now most mothers I know would be willing to give their all if they find a happy and easy way to get their kids to eat the vegetables in whatever format. I remember my Mum adding coriander and curry leaves to many gravy dishes during the tadka, but my siblings and I spared no effort in picking out and discarding them.  We never appreciated the special flavours that Mum used to say, “added” to the curries.  In today’s world of salty, sugary and carb-rich foods our kids take to junk foods and nothing will make them eat their healthy veggies, in fact they will bring out their best excuses to avoid eating them. I struggled to stuff my daughters’ meals with healthy veggies when they were young, and now I have to redouble my skills with my grandkids who are going through that ‘fussy’ age.  I have devised a little trick which has helped, and has gone a long way in getting the kids the right mix of grains, vegetables and in tasty morsels. 

This came about when I noted that my grandchildren liked aloo parathas which are soft, chewy and go down well with a simple buttery moong daal.  I experimented, creating a recipe specially for my grandkids, and have successfully hoodwinked them with a backdoor entry with healthy veggies.  All I did was substitute a steamed and pureed thick cocktail of the vegetables listed above to the dough in place of potatoes. Beetroot has helped me add a little colour to the parathas which make them look different and attractive – and eureka! My trick has worked.  I have introduced this technique to several young working mothers in our social circuit, and it has been universally welcomed.  I am happy to share this little innovation with every mother who finds it problem to get their kids to eat veggies.

These parathas make a wholesome meal and are very nutritious. The best thing is that the kids never make a big fuss about the choice of veggies they are eating. Instead, they look forward to their ‘pink parathas’ for a change…!

Pink Paratha

1 small onion

1 garlic pod

1 medium sized beetroot

2 medium sized carrots

5-6 small flowers of broccoli

6 fresh beans

½ leaf fresh spinach (optional)

2 cups atta (wholemeal flour)

1 tsp oil/butter/ghee

1 tsp salt

Pinch cumin powder

Tiny pinch asafoetida (hing)

Wash all the vegetables in warm water, cut them into small pieces and steam for 5 minutes in a pressure cooker. Cool the vegetables, and blend them into a pulp. Add salt, cumin powder, asafetida, finally adding atta, and knead to make a stiff dough. and make a sift dough out of this mix. Adding the chopped spinach is optional. Keep the dough aside for an hour. Next, make small round balls from the dough, roll out and cook on a tawa, with a touch of butter or ghee. Serve hot with moong dal, honey or fresh or flavoured yogurt or boondi raita.

Here are some delicious fruit recipes with simple ingredients that come together to make something special. Lightly marinated or grilled fruit, served with yoghurt or a good quality vanilla ice cream, can make a great dessert after an Indian meal.

Drunken Grapes
500 gms green seedless grapes
3 tbsp brown sugar
4 tbsp vodka
2 tubs Fruche (with vanilla bean)
½ cup slivered almonds

Slice grapes and put them into a glass bowl. Add sugar, vodka, Fruche and almonds and mix well. Cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour. Serve chilled.

Marinated Nectarines
6 large nectarines
1 punnet blueberries
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
¼ cup brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
2 cups plain yoghurt
2 tbsp good honey
½ tsp pure vanilla extract

Stone the nectarines and cut into eighths. Toss gently with blueberries, ginger, sugar and lime juice. Cling wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Combine yoghurt, honey and vanilla extract. Serve with chilled marinated fruit.

Warm Peaches
4 ripe peaches
4 tbsp light brown sugar

Cut peaches in half and remove stone. Place them, cut side up, on a tray and sprinkle sugar over. Grill under a hot grill for about ten minutes or until sugar begins to darken. Serve warm with chilled yoghurt (plain or flavoured) or Fruche, and some almond biscotti.

Vodka-Marinated Plums
2 plums, sliced
1/4 cup chilled vodka
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp lemon zest

 Combine plums, vodka, sugar and lemon zest in bowl. Stir until sugar dissolves. Refrigerate for half an hour. Serve chilled with plain or flavoured yoghurt or Fruche.

 Orange Delight
3 large sweet oranges
6 large cardamom pods
¼ cup cointreau
Toasted flaked almonds
Yoghurt

Peel and segment oranges, remove white pith and seeds, and chop up flesh. Add cointreau. Peel cardamom and gently bruise the seeds in a mortar and pestle. Mix in with the oranges, cover and refrigerate. To serve, spoon oranges into small glass, top with yoghurt and sprinkle with almonds.

Grilled Plums 1
6 medium plums
2 tbsp butter
2 tsp brown sugar (more or less depending on how sweet the fruit is)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon

Halve the plums and remove stones. Melt butter and whisk with brown sugar and cinnamon. Brush mixture all over cut side of fruit. Place the plums cut side up on a lightly greased oven tray and grill until soft, about five minutes. Cool. Serve chilled with plain or flavoured yoghurt, Fruche or vanilla ice cream.

Grilled Plums 2
6 medium plums
1tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp Galliano liqueur

Halve the plums and remove stones. Place the plums cut side up, on a lightly greased oven tray. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and drizzle with the liqueur. Grill until soft, about five minutes. Cool. Serve chilled with plain or flavoured yoghurt, Fruche or vanilla ice cream.

Red Wine Marinated Peaches
6 medium peaches
1 1/2 cups fruity red wine
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves

Peel, stone and slice peaches. Prepare marinade by combining the wine, sugar, cinnamon and cloves in a medium saucepan. Cook and stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Pour over the peaches, toss gently to coat. Marinate at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. To serve, spoon the peaches and marinade into dessert glasses, top with yoghurt or vanilla ice cream.

Substitute pears for peaches for another version.

Balsamic Vinegar Roasted Plums
6 medium plums
½ cup good quality balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Halve the plums and remove stone. Put in a baking dish and add balsamic vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, and cook in a 180 degree oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until fruit is soft. To serve, spoon into dessert bowls, drizzle with any remaining liquid from the baking dish and top with ice cream (a good quality vanilla or French vanilla).

Substitute plums with peaches or nectarines, or try a combination of all three.

Grapes with Macaroons
2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
4 coconut macaroon biscuits, lightly crushed
1 tub Fruche

Gently fold grapes and macaroon biscuits through Fruche, cover and refrigerate.

To serve, spoon into serving glasses and top with more fresh grapes

The daily grind of school routine has hit us all again, and the summer holidays are but a distant memory. Stuck for lunchbox ideas? Read on for some easy-to-make delights. Perhaps you could get the kids to help you make them! These are great as lunchbox treats, after-school snacks, or even – we’ve all done it – breakfast in the car.

SCROLLS

Pizza Scrolls

2 cups self-raising flour
Pinch salt
90g butter
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1 cup grated cheese (try cheddar)
Pizza toppings of choice such as ham, salami, capsicum, sundried tomatoes, olives, pineapple.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper.

Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Rub the butter into the flour until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add milk. Mix into a dough.

Gently knead dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth, then roll out thickly.

Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a 2cm border around the edge. Sprinkle with the cheese and toppings. Roll up firmly into a log. Brush the edge with a little extra milk and press down firmly to seal. Cut crossways into equal portions, about 3cm thick. Place scrolls on the prepared tray. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Scrolls, Cheats’ Version

Puff pastry sheets
Vegemite
Grated cheese

Lay out puff pastry sheet on work surface and spread with vegemite. Top with cheese. Roll up tightly and cut into1cm rounds. Bake in a preheated oven at 200 degrees until golden.

To make pizza scrolls, replace vegemite with pizza sauce, pineapple pieces, ham, salami, capsicum, or whatever else your child likes on pizza.

How about pesto scrolls with store-bought pesto and cheese?

Pita Bread Chips

Pita bread
Oil spray
Seasoning of choice (try lemon pepper, or chicken salt, or an Indian spice mix or just plain salt)

Cut up pita bread into neat rectangles. Spray well with oil. Sprinkle the seasoning on top and toss well with fingers. Lay out on a baking tray and cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for 5-8 minutes.

(Try parmesan cheese as an additional topping just before putting into oven).

MUFFINS

Cheesy Savoury Muffins

1 cup self-raising flour
1 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese
1 cup chopped ham (or ½ cup sundried tomatoes)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and spoon into greased muffin trays. Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees for about 20 minutes.

(If your child likes them, try adding sliced olives or pesto sauce).

Corn and Cheese Muffins

2 cups plain flour

1 egg
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
1 cup creamed corn
1 cup grated cheese (try a combination of cheddar and mozzarella)
½ cup chopped ham (optional)

Sift flour in a deep bowl and add salt and baking powder. Add the corn, cheese and ham (if using). Break egg into a cup and lightly whisk with fork. Add enough water to reach the ¾ cup mark. Pour this into mixing bowl and mix to combine all ingredients well.

Spoon into greased muffin trays. Cook in a preheated oven at 200 degrees for about 20 minutes. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Vegetable Muffins

2 cups self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
Salt to taste
1 small zucchini, grated
1 small carrot, grated
¾ cup sliced ham or salami (optional)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cup milk
125g butter, melted

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Squeeze out excess water from grated zucchini and carrot. Add to flour along with ham/salami (if using)and 1/2 cup cheese. Mix well to combine.

Whisk eggs, milk and butter in a jug. Add to dry ingredients. Stir till just combined.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Grease a muffin tray and spoon mixture into it upto 2/3rd mark. Top with remaining cheese. Bake until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean, about 20 minutes. . Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Spinach and Cheese Muffins

1 cup self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 cup baby spinach, roughly torn
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup extra-light olive oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Sift flour into a bowl, add caster sugar and baking powder. Stir to combine.

Then add spinach, basil and parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. Make a well in centre.

Whisk buttermilk, oil and egg together in a jug and pour into well. Gently stir until just combined. Grease a mini muffin pan and spoon mixture in. Bake until a skewer inserted comes out clean, about 12 minutes. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.